Biggest physical challenge of being a writer? Not plowing my way through a bag of chocolate when I’m writing. Wow, that’s hard. I don’t feel like I have any trouble getting exercise (my horse keeps me active), but when it comes to emotional eating… Writing is an incredibly emotional thing,Continue Reading
When I first started writing I was in my forties, and I couldn’t imagine needing any antidote for that activity. The discovery of this long-hidden talent brought a deep satisfaction different than anything I’d known. Writing was the antidote to a falling-apart marriage and the trials of two teenage daughters.Continue Reading
I have always wanted to be a writer. Always. At four or five years old, I would sit at the breakfast table with my mother and read her the Peanuts comic strip. One morning, she looked at me and said, “What if you made up your own story about Snoopy?Continue Reading
Before I took myself seriously as an author, I would write in short bursts, either on paper or at my laptop. I did this at my desk, in the garden, or in bed. When I began blogging and writing my non-fiction books, I realized I needed a specific place toContinue Reading
I kind of hate to admit this, but for me the biggest challenge of being a writer is the computer. I can always tell when I’ve had a good writing day—I can’t stand to read from my Kindle at night! Something about that little lit screen not only tires myContinue Reading
Even though I deal with carpal tunnel syndrome and a dislocated tailbone, there are other things that stand in the way of spending hours at the keyboard, like the fact that I’m a kindergarten teacher by trade. Each year my attention span lessens because August through June I have toContinue Reading
The long hours sitting at the computer desk and staring at the terminal (both during research and writing) can take their toll on my lower back, my neck and shoulders, and my eyes. The problem is once I sit down at the desk, it’s very easy for me to loseContinue Reading
Writing is part of who I am, but it is not all of me. I like the description of myself as a house filled with various rooms, each with a different purpose. If I give all of my attention to only one room, making it bigger and more elaborate thanContinue Reading
Being sedentary for so long [is the biggest physical challenge of being a writer]. Not getting enough exercise. And posture/eyesight—it’s so easy for me to forget re-adjusting them every so often. I’m in the process of trying to lose weight that I gained the last several years. So the “sedentary”Continue Reading
My biggest physical challenge is finding a comfortable place to write. I get terrible backaches from sitting in the same position for long stretches. I’ve tried different chairs, different desks and writing tables, different screen and keyboard angles. Sometimes I sit on my bed, my legs stretched out straight, myContinue Reading
If only writing burned calories. It sure would be nice to look in the mirror and say, “Wow, look at these abs . . . those daily writing sessions are really paying off!” *Sigh* Like a lot of writers and artists, my biggest physical problem is sitting on my buttContinue Reading
I’ve had trouble with neck pain. For awhile I couldn’t work for more than 30 minutes at a time. I also developed wrist and thumb pain. Apart from the computer I sometimes lose my voice after a presentation—and could never do two in a row. (Hey, I have dry eyesContinue Reading